


Luminescence

by FractalBunny



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Bisexual Lance (Voltron), Cuban Lance (Voltron), Gay Keith (Voltron), M/M, Nonbinary Pidge | Katie Holt, Pining, Pining Keith (Voltron), Secret Crush, Sexual Confusion, pidge knows
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-15
Updated: 2016-09-09
Packaged: 2018-08-09 01:20:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 9,823
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7781344
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FractalBunny/pseuds/FractalBunny
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lance is really pretty and Keith is really bad at handling himself and is also suffering</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I saw a post on tumblr that there aren't enough fics of Lance being pretty, so here I am with pretty-boy Lance and weak Keith
> 
> Also not all the tags or characters are up but tbh I'm not sure who's gonna show up yet and what's gonna happen so let's hope for the best

Keith hurriedly walked down a corridor, knowing that he was going to run into a certain someone if he didn't hike his ass to the shower faster than light. He stared at the floor, his shoulders scrunched and his head low with morning drowsiness. A hard, bony hand smacked into his back, and an arm wrapped around his shoulders.

"Morning, Keith!" Lance chimed, fully awake despite the ungodly hour.

"Morning." Keith mumbled, keeping his gaze fixed on the floor.

"Don't be rude, look at me when you talk to me!" Lance said, bending down and turning so that his face was level with Keith's. Keith looked over, and felt every muscle in his body tense at the sight of Lance.

He was practically glowing, his skin dewy and clear. His smile was subtle but still cocky, his teeth flashing slightly behind his lips. Keith felt a blush creep into his face, and he looked away again, straightening his back so Lance would stop teasing him with his height.

"Why so quiet today? Are you finally taking this rivalry seriously?" Lance said, snickering. "Whoa, _look out for Keith_ , angst lord of the century!"

"I'm _so_ gay." Keith whispered to himself.

"What?" Lance asked, leaning over, moving his face slightly closer, wrapping his arm more tightly around Keith's shoulders. "Didn't catch that one, dude." Keith's bottom lip started to quiver, and he shut his eyes tightly.

"I said..." Keith said, suddenly shoving Lance away, "Go away!"

"Jesus, Keith, what's the matter with you?" Lance asked, backing away. They had stopped walking. Keith was at a loss for words, and Lance was not pleased. "Dude, I'm sorry if I said something-"

"God, just fuck off, man! I need to shower!" Keith stormed down the last few feet of the corridor and turned into the bathroom, leaving a very confused Lance in his wake.

* * *

 "Pidge, what the fuck did I do?" Lance asked, his head in his hands. "I was just trying to be nice, like you told me, and he told me to fuck off!"

"Maybe you've been such a dick for so long that he's put off by you being nice." Pidge replied, eyes glued to their laptop. "Try being nice more incrementally instead of just unloading all of it at once."

"I wasn't _that_ nice! I was still teasing him and everything!" Lance said, leaning against the wall. "I just want to get along with him, that's all!"

"Well, you didn't want to get along with him a week and a half ago. Give the poor guy some time to adjust to you not making everything a competition." Pidge said, adjusting their glasses. "I really don't see your issue here. Keith's told you to fuck off a million times."

"But this time he wasn't justified! I was just saying good morning!" Lance whined, pacing back and forth. "I even did that weird touching thing that you said to do! I put my hand on his shoulder!"

"He probably felt threatened. The dude's like a stray cat." Pidge said, typing a few more things into their laptop before shutting it. "I'm done counseling you. Go make me some fucking coffee like I asked."

"Only when you stop swearing like that, you're fourteen!" Lance joked, ruffling their hair.

"I'm serious. I'm too tired for your shit, Lance." Pidge growled, standing on their tiptoes and smacking the back of Lance's head.

* * *

Keith stepped out of the shower, wrapping the towel around his waist and securing it. He looked in the mirror, ruffling his damp hair with his hand and checking his teeth. His eyes were framed with dark circles from the sleep he had lost over Lance.

"Okay, Keith, you can deal with this." He said to himself. "You're the pilot of the Red Lion of Voltron. You're the fuckin' coolest. You're stronger than this." He swallowed the lump in his throat. "Yeah, you're gay for the biggest asshole in the universe. That's fine. You have more important stuff to deal with."

He stiffened when he heard a knock on the door. "Keith, it's Shiro, can I please get in there? Hunk is using the other bathroom and you know how he likes long showers."

"Yeah, give me a minute!" Keith quickly dried his hair with the towel and pulled on his boxers and shirt. He scurried out of the bathroom, hoping Shiro hadn't heard his monologue. "Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit..." He whispered to himself as he walked back to his room in complete shame.

Shiro sighed, smirking. He was going to have _so_ much fun watching everything unfold with Allura.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance continues to be pretty and Keith continues to be shitty at handling himself.

There were few rituals that Keith had, but one of them was showering every morning.

He had started after Lance had teased him relentlessly for having 'greasy' hair, and he  _had_ to prove Lance wrong. Every single morning, he would use a weird sort of Altean soap that doubled as shampoo and body wash, and left his hair silky and his skin smooth. Lance stopped teasing him about a week after he started ritually bathing; there was nothing to tease him about anymore.

He stepped out of the shower and just about screamed from what he saw. Lance, completely ass-naked, brushing his teeth. He was bent over the sink, leaning on it with one hand. The Cuban whipped around, completely exposing himself to Keith.

"Oh, hey Keith! I thought you'd be showering for a little longer, whoops!" Lance grinned. "Hope I'm not bothering you!"

"Why the fuck are you  _naked_ _?!_ " Keith shouted, dropping his towel in shock.

"Why the fuck are you?" Lance shot back, smirking. "Dude, chill. I'll hop in the shower in a sec. Let me just finish up." He turned back around and resumed brushing his teeth. Keith was in utter awe. His eyes drifted up and down Lance's back, finally settling on his ass. Lance was bony, no doubt, but he was still well proportioned. Keith's face went up in a blush, his fingers started to shake, he was lost. He felt an all-too-familiar tug between his legs and quickly gathered up his towel, wrapping it around his waist and wincing as it pushed down on something that did  _not_ want to be pushed down.

"Just...take your time. I'll brush my teeth later." Keith said, his voice choppy and rushed. He grabbed his dirty clothes and quickly made his way out of the bathroom. It seemed his luck had run out as he collided with Allura.

"Ah! Keith, watch where you're going!" She snapped, regaining her balance and tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "Looks like the Red Lion is rubbing off on you, you're just speeding around, huh?"

"Yeah. Yep. Red Lion. Exactly." Keith stammered out before giving her a half-assed smile. "Gotta. Get dressed. Yep."

"Yeah." Allura said, pursing her lips. "Don't knock anyone else over."

"Got it." He squeaked out before making a beeline to his room and slamming the door.

* * *

"Shiro, you should have seen him. The boy could barely handle himself. Is he alright?" Allura asked, sitting down next to Shiro, who was focused on his cup of coffee.

"He's uh...caught something." Shiro said.

"What, does he have a fever?" Allura raised an eyebrow. "I have plenty of Altean medicine that would clear that right up."

"No, this isn't something that can be...cleared up." Shiro could barely hold back a smile. "He's caught something that people from earth call the  _love bug_."

"Oh my..." Allura could barely contain her smile either. "Who on earth could he be in love with? I don't think I've seen Keith get along that tremendously with anyone besides you, but you're much too old...oh, Shiro, please don't tell me it's you!"

"God, no. He has eyes for Lance, somehow." Shiro rolled his eyes.

"Thank goodness." She whispered. "Anyways, what are we going to do, then?"

"I think it would be best if we just watched." Shiro said.

"Oh, this is going to be fun!" Allura squealed. "Do we let Coran in on it?"

"Give it a while. Coran's a gossip."

"You're right."

* * *

"Your idea of making Keith like you was waving your ass at him?!" Pidge shouted, slamming their laptop shut. "Jesus Christ, Lance! Can you do anything right?"

"Hey, man, that hurts!" Lance whined, frowning.

"He has a point." Hunk chimed in. He leaned back on the couch, raising his eyebrows. "That might have been too much too fast. I, for one, am not a fan of walking directly into someone's bare ass."

"I was just waiting to shower and he got all freaked out!" Lance said, putting his head in his hands. "Why can't I do this right?"

"You're just new to being likeable, is all." Pidge said, their face devoid of emotion. Hunk snickered, and Lance sighed loudly.

"Dude!" Lance snapped, shoving Pidge's shoulder lightly. "I'm making an effort here."

"Yeah, yeah." Pidge mumbled. "Just do to him what you would want him to do to you." Lance blushed slightly, but shook it off.

"Yeah. Absolutely. Just treat him how I would want to be treated. Fine." He cleared his throat. "I'm gonna go fly around in Blue for a while, I've got nothing better to do."

"Just don't hit anything." Hunk said. "Don't go  _threading the needle_ or any dumb stuff like that."

"Fuck off." Lance said, getting off the couch and walking towards the hangar.

"So, do you think he'll be able to win Keith over?" Hunk asked once Lance had left the room.

"I can only work so many miracles, Hunk." Pidge said, adjusting their glasses and sighing. "This is something Lance has to do for himself, and let's be honest, he's bad at that when his emotions get in the way. And he's totally gay for Keith."

"Who isn't?"


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance and Keith go on a mission together. Everyone wins.

"Alright paladins, we need to do some quick work on a planet we're passing by. I know I've been letting you all rest up lately, and this will be no different." Allura said, walking around her console. "We need to check on the locals of a planet that has been long known by Alteans to be peaceful. Then again, my information is a little outdated." She giggled. "Shiro, Hunk, Pidge, I need you three to do a flyover of the volcanic area on the north side of the planet to make sure it isn't active."

"Allura, my lion can handle heat better, do you want me to do it?" Keith asked. Allura smirked.

"No, you and Lance are going to talk to the locals on the southern hemisphere." She said. "The capital city appears to still be standing, so check there first."

"Allura, you know Keith can barely talk to humans, why would you put him around a bunch of aliens?" Lance asked, giving Keith his signature smirk. "I can do it alone, I'm _perfectly_ capable of-"

"No." Allura said, cutting him off and ending the conversation. "Shiro, you'll be leading from the ground while me and Coran re-calibrate the Castle's communication system. I'll let you know as soon as we're back online."

"Got it." Shiro mumbled.

"Well, let's get going, then!" Allura said, smiling. "This should be fun. And I have a special surprise for all of you when you're done!" Everyone groaned quietly; the last time Allura had surprised them, well, it hadn't gone very well.

Lance caught up to Keith on their way out of the console room. "Hey, Keith, buddy!"

"What?" Keith growled, quickening his pace so that he wouldn't have to suffer through an unnecessarily long conversation.

"I totally think you can handle these locals. I was just messing with you." Lance said, struggling to keep up with Keith despite his taller stature.

"Yeah. You tend to do that, Lance." Keith responded, looking at the ground. He hoped that Lance couldn't see his blush. "You'll be doing better than me, though, if that consoles you."

"Why would I need consoling?" Lance asked, tilting his head and smiling in confusion. Keith felt his heart start to speed up, but he shook his head lightly, ridding himself of the less-than-family-friendly thoughts he was having.

"Because you've been friendly enough lately that I'm convinced you're dying of some incurable illness and you don't want to go down as an asshole." Keith said in a flat voice. "But that's just me." They reached their rooms, and Lance sighed.

"Dude, I'll...we'll talk after we finish this mission." Lance seemed dejected, but Keith pretended not to care.

* * *

The two left their lions about half a mile from the capital city so as not to intimidate its inhabitants. Keith got out of his lion first, as Lance usually took longer to get himself together. He stepped out into knee-deep grass that was dry and striped with red and white. Looking to the left, Keith saw the ocean covering the southern pole of the planet. The water looked a little choppy, but it was clear and blue nonetheless.

"Yo, Keith!" Lance shouted, walking out the mouth of his lion. "Come take a look at this dead thing!" Keith sighed, walking towards him. His senses were overtaken by a horrible smell, and he looked down at the dead animal.

"What the hell is that?" Keith asked, looking back up at Lance. "Why does it have so many whiskers?"

"I can't tell if those are legs or arms." Lance said. He took a deep breath and turned to face the city. "Well, here we are."

"Looks like Earth." Keith said, smiling just enough for Lance to notice. "Hopefully the people are nice."

"Yeah." Lance replied, taking his helmet off and resting it on his hip. "Take your helmet off, man. The breeze feels nice." Keith took his helmet off, shaking his hair to remove it from his forehead.

"Yeah." Keith said, closing his eyes and breathing in the thick air. It was warm, humid, beachy even. "Let's get going."

"We should go down to the beach later, with everyone." Lance said. "That would be awesome."

"Let's hope it's actually water." Keith said, and Lance snickered.

"Yeah." They started wading through the grass, the city in sight.

The two were able to find a small group of the four-legged people, and ended up being able to speak to their leader, a little orange-yellow creature with whiskers running from below their nose to the ground. They extended an invitation for any member of Voltron (and friends) to join them for a celebration of the giant robot's return. Keith, being Keith, tried to politely decline the offer, whereas Lance shoved him aside and accepted it.

* * *

Everyone agreed to return to the castle to change into more party-appropriate clothing. Keith was changed first, throwing on his black t-shirt, gloves, and jeans. Everyone slowly filed towards the door, waiting for Lance, who always took a little  _too_ long.

"Keith, can you go see what's taking Lance so damn long?" Shiro asked, leaning against the wall.

"Yeah, whatever." Keith said, walking back towards Lance's room. He rounded a few corners and rapped on the door loudly. "Dude, what the fuck?" He shouted, crossing his arms in frustration.

"Dude, just come in, I'm having trouble figuring this out." Lance said. Keith opened the door, and stifled a gasp upon seeing Lance. He was shirtless, wearing a pair of shorts that barely covered his ass. Keith bit his lip, feeling his IQ drop by the second. "I don't know which shirt to wear. When we saved that one planet, they gave me this cool crop top looking thing..." Lance put it on, looking in his mirror. "I'm just not sure if it looks right." It was a dark, sunset-orange to yellow ombré with black sequins on the quarter-sleeves.

"You look fine." Keith said, trying not to grab Lance right there and bend him over his vanity. "Let's go."

"Yeah, you're right. I look fuckin' good!" Lance said, doing a little twirl for himself. "Come on, jackass, put on a better shirt than that."

"I only own solid colors, dipshit." Keith growled, leaning against the doorframe.

"You're short but kind of a fatass. I have a shirt that'll fit you  _and_ look good." Lance sorted through the clothes on top of his dresser, finally pulling out a red crop top with little holes and slashes throughout the fabric.

"That's hardly a shirt."

"I have a little jacket to go with this, hang on." Lance opened a drawer, furiously throwing clothes out of the way. "Here!" He pulled out a black-and-white plaid shirt with the sleeves rolled just above the elbow.

"There is no way in hell I'm wearing this shit, Lance." Keith took a step backwards, internally dying at the fact that Lance was trying to dress him.

"Just try it on for me, okay?" Lance said, smiling. "If you don't like it, you can change back into your stupid black shirt."

"Fine." Keith mumbled, pulling off his shirt and putting on the crop top and flannel. He looked in the mirror, and could barely restrain a smile. "You were right. This looks...not bad."

"Dude, you look  _hot_. You'll be getting that four-legged pussy tonight." Lance said, slapping Keith on the back. "Let's go." Keith felt like an arrow had been shot through the heart; Lance had no clue he was hardly into  _pussy_.

"Y-yeah, totally." He stammered out, making a beeline out the door. "I'll race you to the door, you piece of shit!"

"You're on!" Lance shouted in response, instantly picking up his pace to a sprint.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For anyone who doesn't get the layout of the chapter - it's from three perspectives at the same time. So first is Pidge/Hunk's perspective, then Shiro/Allura/Coran's, then Keith/Lance's. This is a dialogue heavy chapter in those first two sections, so GET READY NAUGHTY CHILDREN

"So, Hunk, what do you think?" Pidge had made Hunk a makeshift cocktail from various ingredients the aliens had given them.

"Tastes...fruity." Hunk said, swirling the glass in his hand. "Damn, look at Lance and Keith over there. They're chatting up all these aliens like nothing."

"Yeah, they are." Pidge took a sip of their own drink, and sleepily sat down in the sand. "Keith looks...pleased, for once."

"Yeah, he does." Hunk sat down next to them, downing the rest of his drink and propping his glass in a mound of sand. "Lance really knows how to dress him. I hope they get married so Lance has probable cause to buy Keith a new wardrobe."

"Shit, you're right." Pidge whispered. "Yo, shit, they're starting to walk down the beach. Oh my god, I hope they bang."

"Pidge, what the hell? You're barely old enough to know what 'banging' is!" Hunk ruffled their hair. "But shit dude, same."

* * *

"Wait wait wait, Keith and Lance?!" Coran shouted, a little too loudly as some of the locals turned their heads in confusion. "You're kidding!"

"Coran, calm down." Allura said, making a gesture with her hand that probably had meaning in Altean. "Yes, Keith is pining after Lance, and Lance has no clue but has been  _trying_ to be nice to him lately, it seems, so we're not sure." She looked at Shiro. "Anything to add?"

"Pidge and Hunk are totally in on it, look at them watching the two." Shiro smirked, gesturing towards Pidge and Hunk.

"We can't let them know that we know." Allura said, quickly turning away from the green and yellow paladins.

"Why not?" Coran asked, raising an eyebrow.

"It's more fun that way. Remember Shanti and Istan?" Allura asked.

"Oh, yes!" Coran squealed. "Oh, Shiro, Shanti and Istan were two previous inhabitants of the Castle of Lions. They were aides to Alfor. They were so obviously in love for oh, around...one hundred years? But they were too oblivious to notice! Me and Allura would talk to both of them separately and...meddle, a little..." He laughed. "But we didn't let anyone else in the castle know what we were doing!"

"How can two people be in love for  _one hundred years_ and not do anything?" Shiro asked, horrified at the thought. "Whatever, Altean culture is not my business right now."

"Oh, look at them!" Allura squealed, covering her face with her hands. "They're precious!"

"Oh, they are..." Coran said, leaning against her. "I mean, I'll get behind anything that makes those two stop fighting, and this could be it."

"Are they starting to walk somewhere?" Shiro asked. "I should go make sure they aren't wandering-"

"NO!" Allura shoved his shoulder, driving him back a couple feet. "They go alone. Voltron needs more synergy and if they want to go talk in some secluded, quiet corner of the beach..." She blushed, pausing for a moment. "Then let them!"

"Fine, fine, just don't hit me again!" Shiro said, laughing. "You've got a good arm there."

"Shiro, you knew that, I've thrown you with one arm before." Allura smirked, watching Keith and Lance go.

* * *

"Hey, man, can we take a walk real quick? We still have to talk." Lance tugged on Keith's arm, pulling him away from a blue and pink alien. "I have some stuff to say, you know?"

"Yeah, sure." Keith muttered, not pleased with the idea of being alone with Lance. In reality, he was  _really_ pleased, but he would never show it.

They started to walk down along the beach in almost total silence, their only solace being the lapping of the waves. Once they got far away enough that they couldn't hear the sounds of the celebration, Lance stopped, Keith following suit. Lance sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I'm sorry."

"For what?" Keith asked, trying to keep an angry edge to his voice.

"For being such a dick." Lance seemed barely able to choke the words out. He stopped walking, turning to look at the ocean.

"Okay?" Keith moved to stand next to him, watching the clouds move over the water. "Is that it?"

"No, it's not." Lance looked at the ground, biting his lip. "I just...I miss home. And you were there, you were home before Hunk or Pidge or Shiro or anyone. You were this...this  _constant_ in my life. When we were neck and neck at the Garrison, when you left and I took your spot, you were always just...there."

"Yeah." Keith said, crossing his arms. "I miss home, too."

"And for so long after you left, I...I couldn't stand you. I still don't know why." Lance sighed. "But I just...I started acting like a dick because I  _like_ when you bite back."

"I'll bite if you want..." Keith whispered to himself. He stiffened, taking a step away from Lance. "Still, dude, it's no way to fucking treat someone! You alienate me, you make me feel like shit, and now you're trying to be nice?"

"I know, I'm sorry! I don't know what else to do!" Lance shouted back. "I just want to be friends!"

"Friends?!" Keith's voice cracked. He shoved his hair out of his face, turning away from Lance. He felt his eyes water. Lance wanted to be  _just friends_. He sighed. "It's gonna be pretty fucking hard to be friends after all the shit you've put me through, dude."

"I know, I know..." Lance took a step forward, stumbling slightly and realizing that whatever alcohol-type substance in the drinks was starting to hit him. Keith blinked a few times, starting to feel the effect too. "Just let me try." He put his hand on Keith's shoulder, who turned, grabbing Lance by the arm and throwing him to the ground into a patch of soft green brush.

"Fuck you, man!" Keith yelled, jumping on top of Lance and pinning him by his wrists. "You put me through your own special cocktail of mental hell, and-" He cut himself off, realizing exactly what kind of position he had just gotten himself into. Quietly hoping that the drinks were strong enough to stifle any sort of  _reaction_ , he sighed angrily, leaning back and letting go of Lance's wrists.

"Keith..." Lance said, his voice higher than normal. He sat up, Keith still in his lap. "Was that how it felt? Like hell?"

"Yeah, Lance. Hell." Keith blinked slowly, getting lost in Lance's dark blue eyes.

Lance didn't know if it was the alcohol, or the way Keith looked with the sunset behind him, the way his midriff peeked out from the crop top, he didn't know. He suddenly grabbed the back of Keith's hair, pulling him forward and kissing him. His hand stayed in Keith's hair as he changed their positions, forcing Keith under him with spread legs. Keith shook his head free, pushing Lance away.

"Dude, what the hell?" Keith shouted. "What the fuck are you doing?"

"I-I don't...I didn't mean to..." Lance crawled backwards, letting Keith free. "I'm sorry, I don't know where that came from..."

"Don't fuck with me like this, Lance!" Keith snapped, starting to walk back towards the others. Lance kneeled down in the brush, staring at the ground with watery eyes. He had no clue what the hell had just happened, but he had been a little  _too_ okay with it.

Keith's face was bright red, and he had left was because he didn't want Lance to see how much he had enjoyed the situation. Granted, _he was actually mad at Lance_ , who had _actually put him through hell_ , but he couldn't overlook the fact that he was falling for that piece of shit. Not wanting to get himself into the wrong kind of relationship, he kept walking.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> //screams


	5. Chapter 5

Keith woke up the next morning with a pounding headache. He yawned, stretching his arms up above his head like a cat. His eyes fluttered open, and he realized he was only wearing Lance's crop top and his own boxers. He'd have to return Lance's clothes. Someday.

He dragged himself out of bed, completely hungover from the alien cocktail, and fell onto the floor. "Fuck!" He shouted into the ground, pushing himself back up and shaking his head to wake himself up. "I swear to God."

After changing out of his clothes from the night before, he balled up Lance's clothes and carried them towards his room. When he got there, he quietly set them in front of the door and started walking towards the shower.

While in the shower, he heard the door click open. Keith stopped moving, listening intently to his visitor.

"Keith, are you in here?" Of all people, it had to be Lance.

"Yeah, what is it?" Keith asked, his tone completely flat.

"Can we talk about what happened yesterday? I don't want anything to be weird between us about that..."

"What is there to talk about? We were both tipsy and it was a weird heat-of-the-moment thing." Keith said, feeling his eyes starting to get hot. "It didn't mean anything." His eyes started to water. "It's nothing."

"You're probably right."

"Yep. I usually am." Keith's voice was starting to break. "Get the fuck out, dude, I'm trying to shower in peace."

"Yeah, sorry. See you later, I guess." Lance exited with another click of the door. Keith leaned against the wall of the shower, cupping his hands against the porcelain and pressing his face in. He didn't cry. Crying was  _not_ a thing he wanted to do in that moment. Things don't always go as planned. Tears started to spill out of his eyes, mixing with the water dripping from his hair down his face.

Keith cried softly, completely soundless, but his shoulders rocked up and down in a sobbing motion. He pulled away from the wall, sniffling and running his face through the shower. The hot water splashed across his face and washed his tears away, leaving him with puffy eyes and watery lips. He turned the shower off, grabbing his towel and drying his hair and face.

When he looked in the mirror, he scowled. He saw a sudden, overwhelming weakness in every facial feature, and he couldn't show that to the others. It would give Lance fodder for weeks and it would give Shiro probable cause to make him take a break from training. And Keith  _never_ took a break from training. It was his only solace in his confusing existence of mixed-up emotions.

* * *

"Pidge, can I ask you something?" Lance asked, sitting next to Pidge on the couch. "What would you do in a theoretical situation,  _theoretically_ , if you were trying to reconcile with a guy and you kissed him in the middle of an argument?"

"Lance, you did  _not_." Pidge growled, looking up from their laptop.

"Dude, we're totally theoretical here." Lance shot Pidge a pained smile.

"Well, theoretically, I would probably throw myself off my lion. Because that is arguably the worst thing anyone could do when trying to reconcile with someone. Introducing new emotions into an argument just makes it...well...complicated." Pidge sighed. "I can't believe it. You little shit. You really kissed him."

"Dude!" Lance whined, leaning his head back. "It was just...the way the sun was setting behind him, the way he was looking at me, how could I not?"

"Because you're trying to be friends with him. You're not trying to complicate the poor guy's life." Pidge sighed. "You can be such a pain in the ass, Lance."

"I know..." Lance sighed. "I don't know what happened. One minute, he had me pinned on the ground, ready to fuckin' kill me, and the next I was on top of him pulling out of a kiss."

"That's life, asshole." Pidge muttered, going back to typing. "Have you talked to him yet?"

"I tried to talk to him while he was in the shower but he brushed me off." Lance sighed. "He said it meant nothing, that it was heat-of-the-moment."

"You know how Keith gets. He hates confrontation when it comes to his emotions." Pidge sighed. "I'm done with your shit. Coffee. Now."

* * *

Keith whipped out his bayard, starting up the simulation for sparring. His opponent appeared, running at him with such ferocity that he ran backwards before blocking. The simulation's sword slammed him backwards into the ground, and he quickly rolled out of the way as it jammed its sword into the ground. He slashed at its legs, knocking it down and ending the simulation.

Shiro entered the training deck, still slightly drowsy from sleeping. "Hey Keith, mind if I have a go?"

"No problem. What level do you train on?" Keith retracted the sword from his bayard and clipped it back on his belt.

"Max level." Shiro smirked, and the simulation flickered to life again. The tech in his arm started to glow, and he disarmed the simulation in less than a minute. "Too easy. So, Keith, what did you and Lance talk about last night?"

"We...uh..." Keith swallowed the lump in his throat. "You know. He wanted to apologize for being such a dick all the time, and I uh...didn't accept."

"Why not?"

"Because his delivery was weak, to say the least." Keith said, feeling his eyes start to water again. "Whatever. I'm gonna get something to eat."

"Careful, today's food goo is a little...questionable." Shiro examined his robotic hand for a moment, opening and closing it slowly. "It's making my arm respond less quickly than normal. It's not hindering, but still bothers me."

"Thanks for the warning." Keith walked out of the training deck, making his way towards his room. A few of the lights in the hallway started to flicker, but he didn't care to notice.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys you should follow my tumblr @fractalbunny if you want some sick life details and my Voltron blog @bisexual-bluelion if you want Klance all over your dash
> 
> Also ooo it's gettign spoopy up in here


	6. Chapter 6

Keith exited the training deck, dripping with sweat. His shirt clung to him as he made his walk to the shower, his hair slowly matted to his forehead and flattened. He was breathing deeply, painfully, sounding like he was on death's row. The simulation had really given him a run for his money that morning.

"Hey, Keith." Lance said, doing that irritating thing where he came up behind Keith and patted him on the back. "Looks like Sheila really kicked your ass this morning!"

"You named the simulation?" Keith asked, narrowing his eyes.

"Yeah. Figured she deserved one after she tried to kill us." Lance beamed, his skin glowing and his teeth white,  _as always_.

"Geez." Keith ruffled his hair up with one hand, causing the wet ends to shake sweat onto Lance.

"Fuck! Watch where you do that!" Lance shouted, backing away.

"Oh, I was." Keith smiled brightly. His face dropped as soon as he saw Lance's expression.

He was slightly angry, slightly playful, but put together those emotions never mixed well in Lance. His eyes were narrowed, his shoulders were raised like an offended cat, his mouth curled into a small smirk of contempt. He took a run at Keith, tackling the smaller paladin into the wall and pinning him in. Keith shut down, his face becoming even redder, his eyes wide.

"You two having fun there?" Shiro's voice came from down the hall. Lance immediately took about five steps backward, and Keith stayed on the wall, still too surprised to move. "I don't need you guys getting hurt."

"Y-yeah, right!" Lance said, smiling.

"Yep." Keith added, flashing Shiro the same awkward smile. A light flickered overhead.

* * *

Lance slammed Keith into the wall, this time out of pure lust rather than anger. He started kissing Keith's neck, running his thin fingers down Keith's chest as he did so. Keith moaned, grabbing the back of Lance's hair and gripping it tightly.

"Fuck, Lance..." Keith whined, gasping for air as Lance bit down on his collarbone. "I want you..."

"I want you too, baby..." Lance raised his face back up, kissing Keith softly. "Let's take this back to my room."

"Fuck, okay..." Keith reached around behind Lance, grabbing at his ass and smirking. They snuck down the hall and ducked into Lance's room, shutting the door quietly behind them.

"Take your shirt off." Lance's voice was suddenly low and commanding. "I wanna see you." Keith tugged his shirt off, exposing his toned abdomen. Lance trailed kisses down Keith's chest, slowly kneeling down until his knees were on the floor.

"L-Lance..." Keith whined as Lance unbuttoned his jeans and pulled down the zipper. Lance smiled, kissing Keith through his boxers.

"Ready?" Lance asked, tugging at Keith's waistband.

"God, yes." Keith whimpered, closing his eyes in anticipation...

...and then he woke up.

Keith's eyes fluttered open. He had decided to take a power nap after his shower and, well...it had ended up lasting an hour, catapulting him through the most painfully enjoyable dream of his life.

"God, if you're real, just take me now. End my suffering. Voltron will go on without me. Allura can take my place. Let me die." He pulled his pillow over his face, groaning into it. "Is this love? Is this what it is? Constant, unending pain?" He heard a knock on his door. "Come in!"

"Keith, it's Coran. You missed lunch so I'm leaving some food just inside your door here. Take it when you want it." Keith heard the quiet sound of Coran setting the plate on the ground, and then the quiet click of his door as he left.

Keith stood up, blinking the sleep from his eyes. He had been training so much more often (mostly to distract himself from stray thoughts of Lance) that it had become almost mandatory for him to take a nap. That distinctive tugging started between his legs, and Keith sighed, almost exhausted from thinking of Lance. "I swear to god." Keith whispered to himself. " _I swear to god, if I have to pleasure myself to the image of that complete piece of shit, I will throw myself out the airlock_."

He picked up the food Coran had given him and set it on his bedside table, looking in his mirror. Suddenly, all the lights in his room went out, leaving him in the pitch dark. Every ambient noise of the castle could suddenly be heard: the whirring of engines, the thrusters, the water running through the pipes.

Keith heard three sharp, distinguished knocks on his door. "Come in." He said, turning around and narrowing his eyes. It was of no use; he couldn't see a damn thing.

"Hey, man, it's Lance. Your room is the closest to where I was and I got freaked out by myself." Keith sighed. "Sorry. I just thought that you probably didn't want to be alone either."

"No, it's fine, come in and shut the door behind you." Keith said, his voice starting to shake. "We could like. Sit on the floor. Or something. My bed doesn't have a lot of room."

"Yeah, sure. Let me find you, buddy." Lance took a few steps forward and bumped right into Keith, pinning him against his bedside table with his hips. "Shit, sorry..." Lance took a step back, and Keith hoped he hadn't felt anything  _down there_.

"It's fine." Keith said, trying to keep his voice steady but instead coming off as monotonous. "I'm sitting down, now." He sat against his bed, and gasped slightly when Lance sat next to him.

"Too close?" Lance asked.

"Yeah, little bit." Keith squeaked out. Lance shuffled a few inches away, breaking the contact. "So, uh..."

"You've noticed the lights flickering, right? I didn't really pay attention to it, but now I'm thinking there might be something going on..." Lance snickered. "Think it's the crystal?"

"I hope not. We're nowhere near any balmeras as far as I know." Keith said, biting his lip hard to distract himself. "What should we do while Allura and Coran deal with it?"

"We could play a game!" Lance said, smiling. "Like twenty questions!"

"Yeah, alright." Keith said, swallowing hard. "You go first."

"You a virgin?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tbh I feel like Keith talks to himself a lot after living on his own in the middle of heckdarn nowhere for a while
> 
> But yeah I also changed one letter in the title because my dumb ass realized I had spelled it wrong
> 
> Years of honors English and I still can't spell


	7. Chapter 7

"Am I...what?" Keith asked, raising his eyebrows.

"You know, a virgin. Have you ever done it?"

"Done what?"

" _Dude_."

"What?!"

"Have you ever had sex?" Lance asked, in a voice that was almost a shout.

"Oh, oh god!" Keith started laughing. "I mean, at the garrison, I..." He paused, his voice cutting off.

"I mean..." Lance sighed. "You had this crazy reputation, dude. A couple girls I talked to...well, bitched to about you, they..." He laughed. "They said your tongue was a fucking legend."

"Oh, yeah?" Keith laughed uncomfortably. "Who said that?"

"Uh...Callie and Isabelle, mostly." Lance laughed again, his voice suddenly low. "Is it true?"

"Callie?" Keith narrowed his eyes. He had blocked the garrison out of his mind; there were plenty of reasons he had dropped out. "Shit, I think I remember her. Blonde?"

"Yeah."

"Oh, god, she was my first girlfriend. Yeah, shit, I remember her." Keith sighed. "She was my uh...my first. Yeah, no, I'm not a virgin."

"Damn. I thought you spent all your time flying."

"You could say that." Keith grinned. "Callie was on my flight team, remember? We did two-man flights a few times."

"Holy shit!" Lance burst out laughing. Keith blushed, the sound of Lance's surprise exciting him. He moved an inch closer to Lance.

"How about you?" Keith asked, biting his lip.

"Nah, not a virgin." Lance said. "Since I know who you lost it to, I guess I could tell you mine."

"Only if you want to." Keith felt a small wave of jealousy towards the lucky girl who Lance had been with.

"Remember Trent?" Lance asked, his voice shaky. "Yeah, it was him."

"Wait, you're gay?" Keith asked, feeling his entire world warp around him. He had a chance.  _He had a chance_. Granted, Lance had kissed him just a handful of days ago, but it had been a 'heat of the moment' thing. Totally straight. Way to go, Keith.

"Bi, actually." Lance snickered. "I don't really talk about it, I guess. You know how conservative they were at the garrison."

"Yeah." Keith swallowed the lump in his throat. "Y-you know, Lance, I'm not really straight myself."

"Shit, really? You bi too?" Lance asked, his voice hopeful.

"Um..." Keith sighed. "Not really."

"What, then?"

"I'm uh..." Keith had never said the words. His body suddenly froze over, or so it felt, and his heart jumped into his throat. "I'm gay." There was total silence for what felt like hours. "I...I haven't told anyone else..."

"Holy shit." Lance's voice was...not as happy as Keith expected, to say the least. "Dude, you...you probably fucked half the girls in our class..."

"I was trying to convince myself that I was normal." Keith's eyes started to tear up. Lance was probably judging the living hell out of him. He stiffened when Lance put his arm around his shoulders and pulled him in for a half-hug.

"It's totally normal to be gay, man. Don't say that." Lance's voice was so smooth, so motherly in such a strange way, that Keith was suddenly more comfortable than he had ever been. "It's okay."

"I've never even been with a guy, though!" Keith whined. "I don't know how it feels!"

"Do...do you want to?" Lance asked, his voice suddenly very serious. "I mean, I know I kinda kissed you before, but if you want to actually do something small, I'd be more than happy to help you out."

"Really?" Keith asked, his brain completely shorting out. He felt himself start to shiver. "You would do that?"

"Yeah, no sweat."

"Okay...could you uh..." Keith felt like he was having a panic attack, his entire world was crumbling around him as he leaned slightly more into Lance. "Just...just kiss me? Not out of anger or anything this time, but..."

"Yeah." Keith gasped as Lance traced his jawline with his finger, pulling him in for a kiss. Lance's lips were soft, warm, flawless. Keith knew his own lips were dry and scratchy in comparison, and that Lance was probably disgusted with him, but he still reached around the back of Lance's head, holding him in.

It only lasted a few seconds before there was a knock on the door.

"Keith? Are you there?" They both jumped backwards at Hunk's voice. "Keith?"

"Yeah?!" Keith snapped, suddenly having thoughts of beating the shit out of a certain yellow paladin.

"Allura wants us all in the console room. Have you seen Lance?" Hunk asked.

"Yeah, I'm here too." Lance's voice sounded perfectly smooth, even, unbothered. Keith was almost angry about that, too.

"She got a couple of security lights or whatever to work in the halls. You guys will be able to see if you come out here." They heard the sounds of Hunk walking away.

"Well, we'd better get going." Keith's voice was scratchy from a strange sense of arousal.

"Yeah. If we can find our way to the door." Lance joked. Keith stood up, holding out his hand and finding Lance's. They stayed in contact, walking towards the door and making it out.

* * *

"Well, paladins, we've got a little problem." Coran started. "The crystal is unharmed, but our ship seems unable to harness any power from it."

"We're trying to fix the problem, but it's obviously been happening for a while. I just thought the flickering lights were from turbulence, but we've been running on stored power for days." Allura sighed. "We're barely moving, and we're nowhere near a balmera. We've sent out a coded distress signal that hopefully won't reach any Galra ships."

"How long are we going to be out here?" Shiro asked, crossing his arms.

"Can't we like, form Voltron and push the ship or something?" Lance asked. Keith sighed, realizing exactly  _who_ he had just kissed.

"No. As long as we have no power, the lions are sealed in their bays." Allura explained, narrowing her eyes.

"Jesus, Lance." Pidge muttered, adjusting their glasses. "Want me and Hunk to take a look at it, guys?"

"No. That hardware of the castle is...dangerous." Coran said. "You could get electrocuted!"

"Wait, shouldn't we like...not have gravity right now?" Hunk asked, looking down at the floor.

"We're running on stored power. The first thing to go is lights, last thing to go is life support, such as air filtration and gravity." Allura pursed her lips. "We have about...a week of stored energy, as long as we don't turn on  _any_ lights, bathe and eat minimally, and don't try to fly the ship anywhere."

"What happens in a week?" Hunk asked shakily.

"You don't want to know..." Coran muttered.

"What do we do in the meantime?" Keith asked, finally speaking up.

"Live." Allura said. "Just wait until someone helps us."

"How could they help us?" Pidge asked. "No one else is gonna have the tech anymore."

"They could tow us to the nearest habited planet." Coran said, smiling hopefully. "Thankfully, we're in an area of moderately high air traffic."

"Everyone, just be careful." Allura added. "Don't bump into anything and don't get yourselves hurt. And Pidge,  _stay away from the crystal_."


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm gonna let y'all in on a little secret
> 
> Almost every chapter of this stuff has been written while I'm in class (high school)
> 
> That's why I'm getting kinda choppy with it lmao in photo I can write smoothly but otherwise I'm just shooting out a couple lines when I can
> 
> Anyways this chapter is /the one you've all been waiting for/ so prepare yourselves I guess

"Uh, Keith?" Lance asked.

"Yeah, Lance?" Keith asked in response.

"Could we...go back to your room?"

"Why?"

"I'm..." Lance looked at the others. "Can we talk somewhere else?" He asked with a lower voice.

"Yeah, sure. We can just head to my room." Keith smile, slightly pained. He still felt  _mad_ at Lance for a multitude of reasons, but he still wanted  _something_ with him at the same time.

They walked back to Keith's room in silence, feeling their way along the wall and squinting through the dim light. Keith pulled his door open, walking inside to the completely pitch-black room.

"I'm really, really scared of the dark." Lance said. "Usually, I can deal with it for a while, but the idea that we could just...die out here..." He sighed. "The idea that we could never see home again...it all stacks, you know?"

"Yeah." Keith felt his anger for Lance subsiding. He couldn't be mad at someone in the same shitty boat as him. Lance was just scared, too, he was just afraid. And people were always more willing to open up if there was a chance of dying. However, Keith at least wanted Lance to be calm with the sense of imminent death. "How do you calm down?"

"I haven't really had to since I was little. My mom would sing Cielito Lindo to me, but you probably don't know the words." Lance snickered. "I could always sing it to myself."

"Whatever works." Keith lay down on his bed, closing his eyes. Lance sat against the wall, and started humming to warm up. Keith was almost getting impatient, even annoyed with Lance disturbing his second nap, until he started singing.

"De la Sierra Morena, cielito lindo vienen bajando, un par de ojitos negros, cielito lindo de contrabando..." Lance sang quietly to himself, his voice a smooth tenor. "Ay, ay, ay, ay, canta y no llores, porque cantado se alegran, cielito lindo los corazones..." Keith's eyes started to tear up; he couldn't control himself. Lance paused, sighing. "You have no clue what these words mean, do you?"

"No, sorry..." Keith choked out. "I only know English."

"That's okay, I'll teach you." Lance said, his voice becoming less shaky than before. "That first part, de la Sierra Morena, cielito lindo vienen bajando, it means...from the Sierra Morena, that's a mountain range in Spain, lovely sky, come down. Un par de ojitos negros, cielito lindo de contrabando, that's...a pair of little dark eyes, lovely sky of smuggling..." He paused, taking a few soft breaths. "Canta y no llores, sing and don't cry, porque cantado se alegran, because singing, they brighten up, cielito lindo los corazones, lovely sky, the hearts."

"That's beautiful." Keith said.

"Yeah, I guess so." Lance stood up, walking over and sitting on the edge of the bed next to Keith. "You have any songs?"

"Nothing you would like." Keith sat up, moving so he was next to Lance.

"Nah, give me anything. I'm not picky." Keith couldn't see it, but Lance smiled and winked.

"Okay, um..." Keith laughed quietly. "Did you ever hear Boyfriend?"

"What, by Justin Beiber? Man, I expected better from you." Lance sounded legitimately disappointed, and Keith bit his lip.

"No, by Alphabeat." Keith sighed. "It's from like, the 80's."

"Never heard."

"Okay, let me try to remember how it starts..." Keith started to tap his foot, closing his eyes and recalling the chorus, then the first line. "Oh! I got it!" He grinned, wondering what Lance would think. "Oh yeah you look at me, when my baby is taking my hand and we're walking and talking, and my parents, they don't wanna see me, my friends say I'm uncool, but I let love rule..."

"Oh my  _god_. Keep going."

"Oh yeah, it's just because I'm crazy in love, crazy in love, oh yeah, it's just because I'm crazy in love, crazy in love..." Keith took a deep breath. "Don't you touch my boyfriend, he's not your boyfriend, he's  _mine_..." He broke down into laughing, and Lance laughed with him.

"You have a good voice dude, but oh. My. God." Lance moved closer to Keith, and despite not being able to see his expression, Keith suddenly had very mixed feelings. "That was fucking hilarious." Lance moved even closer. Keith, by some grace deep inside himself, didn't move away.

"What are you doing?" Keith asked, very obviously shaky. "D-dude, back off..."

"What if I don't want to?" Lance asked. His voice was low, rich,  _demanding_.

"I'm serious, Lance, I'm still kinda pissed at you..." Keith trailed off. He knew he wouldn't be able to hold off Lance  _and_ all of his repressed feelings for him. "This...this isn't a good idea..." Lance grabbed the back of his hair, yanking him forwards into a kiss. Keith moaned, half out of pleasure, half out of surprise, and started clawing at Lance's face and chest to no avail.

"Stop that, will you?" Lance whined. "It's so dark, we're alone, just let it happen."

"Dude, I just came to terms with all of my weird gay feelings, like,  _an hour and a half ago_." Keith tried (and failed) to sound mad. Lance scoffed, swinging a leg over Keith and pulling himself into Keith's lap. " _Dude_."

"Well, you've come to terms, haven't you?" Lance asked, leaning forwards. "Time to act, buddy."

"I don't know..." Keith was cut off again by Lance leaning in and kissing him again. Lance moved his hips, grinding into Keith and making him moan.

"Cute noise." Lance said, snickering. "Did Callie ever get that one out of you?"

"Shut up." Keith growled, this time being the one to pull Lance in. Lance's tongue swiped across his bottom lip, and he responded by biting down on Lance's bottom lip lightly. Lance pushed Keith back onto the bed, pulling off his shirt and crawling on top of him.

"Last I checked, you're not the one on top, so you don't make the rules." Lance kissed Keith again, and all Keith could feel were tingles up and down his spine and the softness of Lance's lips. Keith grabbed Lance by the waist, and threw him sideways, getting on top of him.

"Well, now _I_ am." Keith crooned, leaning down to kiss Lance's neck.

They both stiffened at a knock on the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'M NOT LETTING ANYTHING TOO GOOD HAPPEN YET HAHA GOT 'EM
> 
> Also holy shit this was all one scene and I hit my chapter word count goal of 1,000 I'm proud of my young self
> 
> Remember to follow on tumblr @bisexual-bluelion and @fractalbunny if you care about me n my dumb life :')


	9. Chapter 9

When Pidge opened the door, Keith finally got a full view of Lance.

Lance's skin was flushed pink, glowing in the pale red emergency lights. The light splashed across his chest and face, adding shadows around his eyes. His eyes were heavy-lidded, his dark blue irises nearly hidden by his pupils. He shoved Keith away, biting his lip and sitting up. "Hey, Pidge..."

"Oh, shit!" Pidge blushed. "Lance, I've been looking for you because I need your help reaching something, and I thought Keith might have seen you, and..." They ran a hand through their hair nervously. "Shit, I'm sorry!"

"No, no, I'll help you out." Lance choked out after a few moments. He grabbed his shirt, quickly leaving after Pidge. After the door closed, Pidge shoved Lance against the wall with a sudden bout of strength.

"What the hell are you doing?!" They snapped, letting go of Lance. "You wanted to be  _friends_ , not fuck buddies!"

"I don't know what happened!" Lance whined. "I just...I don't know! We...we were just talking about the garrison and music and stuff and suddenly..." He sighed. "I don't know what came over me."

"So this was  _your_ idea." Pidge growled. "I told you it was a shitty move to play around with his feelings."

"I know!" Pidge started to walk away, and Lance followed them. "Pidge, where are you going?"

"I told you, I need help with something. And for fucks sake, could you put your shirt back on?" Lance scrambled to put it on. "Thank god."

"Don't act like I don't look fuckin' awesome shirtless."

"I'm fourteen."

* * *

Hunk smiled at Pidge and Lance's arrival in the crystal room. "Hey, guys! Glad you could make it."

"Didn't Allura specifically tell you guys  _not_ to fuck around with this thing?" Lance asked.

"Yeah." Pidge mumbled, walking over to the crystal.

"Fair enough." Lance shrugged. "So, what did you need my help with?"

"I didn't. I was making shit up to justify myself. The three of us just don't hang out anymore." Pidge snickered.

"Why did you have to justify yourself? Lance, don't you like hanging out with us?" Hunk asked, smirking.

"No, no, he does, I just...interrupted something." Pidge glared at Hunk, and Hunk's eyes widened. He gave Pidge a small nod.

"Aight." He went back to tampering with the wires connected to the crystal.

"So...what's the goal, here?" Lance asked, running his hand across the crystal's surface. It responded by glowing with a dim light.

"We're not really sure about that yet." Hunk said, laughing nervously. "Right now we're just working on not getting electrocuted."

* * *

Keith left his room, walking towards the bathroom as quietly as possible. He hoped he wouldn't run into anyone; he just wanted to go in peace.

He entered the bathroom, which was completely in the dark except for a single light above the sink. Taking a shower wouldn't take up any power; the water was heated by the engines, which although ambient were still running in certain parts. He turned it on to a slightly warm temperature, peeling off his clothes that clung to him with sweat.  _He was sweating._ Lance was killing him.

"Dammit, self, keep your shit together." He mumbled. "He's just a boy. He's just a boy that you saw shirtless, with that  _pale fucking light_ on his face, and he's just a boy that you kissed. It's not good for the team to be with him, so keep. Your. Dick. Out. Of. This." Keith never felt strange talking to himself. He had spent so much time alone that it had become commonplace for his inner monologue to be his only company.

The water was calming, running down his back and legs, covering him in warmth. He felt safe in the near pitch-black of the bathroom, the warm water, the silence. His eyes closed, and he leaned forwards against the shower wall, lowering his head so the water splashed against the back of his head and neck.

"For what you did to me, and what I'll do to you, you get what everyone else gets, you get a lifetime..." He whispered to himself, smirking. "Do you remember that day when we met, you told me this gets harder...well it did..." His voice started getting louder. "Been holding on forever, promise me that when I'm gone you'll kill my enemies..." He was full-on  _singing_. It was rare enough that he had sang for Lance earlier, but twice in one day was a breakthrough. "The damage you've inflicted temporary wounds, I'm coming back from the dead and I'll take you home with me, I'm taking back the life you stole!" Keith paused, breathing heavily, realizing he had been full-on belting the lyrics. If Lance was outside the door, he would be hearing about it for years.

He turned off the water, towel-dried his hair, and put his clothes back on. The shower had cleared Lance from his mind and instead had planted Gerard Way. Which, Keith thought, was totally acceptable considering that Gerard was long dead and wasn't playing with his feelings.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Emo Keith is 3edgy5me


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry these updates kept getting further and further apart
> 
> MDD sucks majorly my dudes
> 
> (That's major depressive disorder fyi)
> 
> Also my ex is making my life a living hell so normally my nights are spent watching Futurama to try and forget lmaooo

It had been two days since the ship had lost power. Pidge and Hunk had been working hour after hour to repair the damage, but they hadn't made much headway after their electronic tools died. Hunk liked to tinker with his hands, but Pidge preferred to use tools, so Hunk started putting in much more time.

Allura and Shiro, fumbling through the dark, somehow managed to keep everyone in order. Coran mostly worked on preparing smaller meals that didn't use too much power to make. Allura almost felt like a den mother, herding the paladins around. Her and Shiro had even created a system of quick phrases that they would shout to each other throughout the ship.

Keith was simultaneously seeking out and avoiding Lance. He wasn't sure what they were at that point, and he didn't want to rush in to a relationship that could leave Voltron torn apart. His anxieties about saving the universe were keeping him from pursuing a boy; it was ultimately an understandable sacrifice. Whenever he'd see Lance, he'd stare for a moment, but quickly creep into the next room or hallway over, wanting to avoid a half-assed makeout session in the pitch-dark corridors.

Lance felt betrayed, considering that he had opened up to Keith about his insecurities, namely his paralyzing fear of the dark. He would try to go after Keith once in a while, but he would always be too spooked to go into the darker corridors that Keith would duck away into.

That day, two days after the beginning of Lance's personal hell, he chose to follow Keith into one of the darkened halls.

"Keith!" He shouted, trembling, barely able to walk into the darkness. "Buddy! Can we talk?" Keith cowered in the embrace of darkness. "I really thought we had a thing going until you started avoiding me!"

"Leave me alone, Lance." Keith snarled. "I don't want to jeopardize Voltron because I'm having some sort of weird gay phase."

"Jesus, Keith, it's not a phase!" Lance whined. "How long has this been going on?"

"What, me being gay or me being gay for  _you_?" Keith asked, his tone still defensive.

"I don't know, pick one!" Lance felt his way down the wall, his eyes adjusting slightly to the darkness.

"When it comes to you, I..." Keith paused. "I'm not sure. My feelings all came out of nowhere and...I don't know, man. I don't know."

"Hey, it's okay not to know." Lance said, his voice suddenly softer. "It's okay."

"No, it's not!" Keith whined, his voice cracking. "You, of all people, deserve someone who can always be there for you, always be confident about how they're feeling. I can't be that person right now."

"It's okay." Lance whispered, finally reaching Keith and putting a hand on either side of his face. "It's okay."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm gonna be honest guys, I'm majorly losing interest in this fic, so I'm gonna end it here. However, I'm going to try and start a new one soon that I'll write more deeply. This was supposed to be a light fic to help me grasp Lance and Keith's characters better for a bigger, better Klance fic so...I'll get to work on that one. I'm sorry if the ending feels abrupt or unwarranted - it really is - but reality is that if I can't write something, I can't write it.
> 
> The new fic is up, titled "Tripping Eyes and Flooded Lungs". It's a band camp AU. It's gonna be really fun. I'm giving Lance and Keith really fun quirks and adventures and then I'm going to rail you guys with angst.
> 
> Thank you all for giving me love throughout this fic. It means a lot. <3


End file.
